Eat Your Oysters (and Your Greens, too)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE oysters. D, though not a big oyster fan himself, was kind enough to be a good sport and accompany me to the largest oyster festival in New England two weeks ago. 

Here's a snapshot of the shucking contest. You can feel the passion here, can't you?

No-Bake Dried Fruit Coffee Bar -- a perfect post-workout snack

D has started working out again: bought a new bike, and has been going on 25-mile rides on weekdays and 50-mile ride on weekends for the past couple month. Believe it or not, one can easily burn over 1500 calories per ride!

To help with a speedy recovery, I made this yummy treat after reading this article about caffeine and cycling.

Toasted Sesame Hummus -- no tahini on-hand

Last weekend we had some friends over for boardgames, and I had the sudden craving for hummus -- the creamy, smooth, nutritious spread that is perfect on a piece of pita bread that you share with someone. But our pantry was not stocked with tahini. I mean, really, who can use a jar of tahini fast enough, ever? If you read my beer-nut butter recipe, then you probably won't be shocked that I am even too lazy to buy tahini, and this is what I settled with.

I have seen some really tasty food as the product of desperation. This hummus once again strengthened the case. 

the Simplest Homemade Peanut Butter -- the Beer-Nut Butter

Laziness often lead to the creations of something great. Why else do we appreciate the the remote control or a dish washer so much? Today, I may have just stumbled upon another great thing to have in your life (assuming you are not allergic to it): beer-nut butter!

Roasted Beet Pie with Blue Cheese & Caramelized Onions -- simple pie, big flavors

This is another savory pie for the 9th square pie contest. Again, the main ingredients are from the summer farmer's market behind Woosley Hall, courtesy to the Yale dining service. The bundle of beet roots with beet greens were $2.00/bundle. It was just impossible resist those beautiful beets, and as a result, we found ourselves eating beet salad, beet burgers, even beet cakes. And now, it's time for a glorious beet pie.

Pota-toma-to Pie -- a savory pie to celebrate summer (my first pie contest)

9th Square is a fun neighborhood -- bar crawls, soccer village, and now a pie contest! Here is the deal: for $15 dollars, you get to enter the block party with tables piled with pies, where you get unlimited pies, ice creams, live music, and a cash bar. Everything goes to charity, and if you bring a pie to share, you get to get in for free. Sounds like fun huh? I mean, can you think of a better way to start of the weekend than all-you-can-eat pies?

Salmon Steak en Papillote with Spinach, Summer Squash and Cherry Tomatoes -- dinner in a packet

Believe it or not, the all time most popular post on this blog is about using the "en papillote" method to cook whiting fish. It was among the first few posts that I wrote, the formatting was a mess, the pictures were directly from a low-quality cell phone camera, and I didn't even write out the recipe in the end! I don't feel my post  did the method justice -- it is a fool-proof method to cook a delicious fish (and a ton of other things).

There are three things about "en papillote" that I love. It is easy -- all it takes is some assembling and you can just throw it into the oven. Done! It is also pretty hard to mess up. Cooking fish can be hard because it gets dry quite easily. But with all the juices sealed in, it almost guarantees the moist fish with packed with flavors. I like the fact that I get to OPEN something as well. If you get it at a restaurant, it is like a surprise parcel. Even when making it at home, it is still mysterious as you never know how things will turn out exactly. It also reminds me of Christmas time and makes me very happy.

Want to guess what is "en papillote" this time? (Technically one would use parchment paper, I am cheating a bit with heavy duty aluminum foil here. )